Thursday, June 16, 2011

Pan-Fried Mahi-Mahi with Jamie Oliver's Salsa Verde and Served with Jill Dupleix's "Crash Hot Potatoes"

For those of you wondering about the appearance of fish on this post given my vegan diet of late, I completed my second month of eating vegan. I reached my goal, and while I will keep many parts of the plant-strong diet, I must say that I really missed my fish! My first non-vegan meal eating out included fish and shrimp tacos, and my visiting niece and I pan-fried some local mahi-mahi (Jamie used lemon sole fillets), and topped them with dollops of Jamie's tangy and delicious salsa verde.


While Jamie served broccoli and new potatoes with his fish, we went with Jill Dupleix's classic Crash Hot Potatoes (recipe here), an old favorite of mine, way before The Pioneer Woman made them popular a couple of years ago. It was fun to get to cook with my niece Laura, who did the prepping of the herbs, chopping of the gherkins and the "crashing" of the potatoes. It was a simple dinner that tasted great.

You can find the recipe for the salsa verde and the pan-fried lemon sole Jamie served it on here, or in "Cook With Jamie" on pages 218-219.


Salsa Verde
From "Cook With Jamie" by Jamie Oliver

1 clove of garlic, peeled
a handful of capers, drained
a handful of gherkins, drained and finely chopped
6 good-quality anchovy fillets in oil, finely chopped
2 bunches of fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
a bunch of fresh basil, leaves picked and finely chopped
a bunch of fresh mint, leaves picked and finely chopped
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
red wine vinegar
good-quality extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To make your salsa verde, finely chop the garlic and put in a bowl. Add the capers, gherkins, anchovies, parsley, basil and mint. Mix in the mustard and 1 or 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, then 3 good lugs of olive oil, adding more if needed to make a loose mixture. Balance the flavours with pepper and, if necessary, salt and a little more red wine vinegar. (Rather than doing all that chopping, we processed the herb leaves, 2 garlic cloves, anchovies, Dijon, 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar, and olive oil in a food processor until it formed a loose paste. Then we added the chopped gherkins and the capers and gave it a couple of pulses. There was no need for more vinegar, salt or pepper. Easy-peasy)

Notes/Results: Moist flakey fish with piquant green sauce and crispy potatoes--it was wonderful. Jamie's salsa verde had great flavor, and when you use the food processor instead of hand-chopping the herbs, just takes minutes to prepare. Potatoes are a great pairing--we used small round yellow potatoes and topped them with thyme and rosemary. Since I used a thicker piece of mahi-mahi, it did take longer to cook the fish but it was worth it. Definitely I will make all of this again.


It's Pops is Tops week at IHCC and this dish would be perfect for any dads who love to fish or fish-loving dads out there. You can check out what the other IHCC participants made for the pops in their lives by going to the post and clicking on the links.

I'll leave you with a picture of a beautiful pink lotus that I took today in Waimea Valley.


Have a peaceful and happy Aloha Friday! ;-)

13 comments:

  1. Looks great and how fun to cook with your niece.

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  2. What an interesting salsa verde. I immediately thought of tomatillos, but I see this is different. It sounds great!

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  3. I really love all the recipes I've tried in Jamie Oliver's cookbook. Those potatoes look yummy.
    Kudos for doing a vegan diet! I did that once for lent, but I have slipped to eating a lot of meat again. It's good to kind of "reset."

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  4. Congrats on finishing your second month! I've been totally fine giving up meat, but fish and cheese...NEVER. Especially not sushi.

    I love the sound of this meal! That salsa verde is the perfect way to add some intense flavor to the mahi mahi.

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  5. Delicious meal and good for you for expanding your horizons! I couldn't give up fish taco's. What a nice way to spend time with your niece, your dinner looks amazing.

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  6. I love the look of those potatoes - they look so crispy

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  7. Oh, this definitely looks like an amazing meal! I can't believe 2 months is up...fantastic job, woman! I think it's totally beneficial to have fish/seafood in your diet. You are definitely my inspiration in the "healthy eating" category.=)

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  8. Yum, I love salsa verde! Congrats on completing 2 months of veganism - very inspiring!

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  9. Yum, that mahi mahi must have been great. I couldn't give up my meat, but congrats on your 2 months of vegan!

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  10. Congrats on doing 2 months vegan!!! That's quite a feat!

    Mm mm! This looks quite delectable! The salsa verde is like an herb puree. The green color it adds to the dish is fantastic. Looks like you seared the fish just long enough to keep it soft and juicy yet firm crust. Makes me wanna cook!

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  11. Sounds like you and your niece are having a wonderful time. This is the perfect meal to celebrate with after completing your challenge. The tender and flaky fish with the flavorful salsa verde look terrific.

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  12. That salsa looks so good! And mahi-mahi is a favorite fish of mine,love it lady!

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